© 2018 The Texas Lawbook.
By Brooks Igo
(Jan. 31) – Winstead is bolstering its securities litigation practice by luring two former government prosecutors to the firm as shareholders.
Toby Galloway, former chief trial counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Fort Worth Regional Office, and Ronak Patel, who served as deputy securities commissioner of Texas from 2012 to 2016, jumped to Winstead this week from Kelly Hart & Hallman.
David Dawson, chairman and CEO of Winstead, says the move to recruit Galloway and Patel is a prime example of a larger firm strategy to aggressively pursue specialty litigators.
The firm has added six “specialty litigation” shareholders since December, including Houston labor and employment experts Cary Farris and John Linker and Dallas business divorce pros Ladd Hirsch and John Tancabel.
“Clients want to know that their litigators are truly specialists in whatever the particular subject matter is,” Dawson says.
John Kincade, co-chair of the firm’s securities litigation and enforcement practice, says Galloway and Patel make the firm “stronger and younger at the same time.
“I don’t think all of our competitors can say that,” he adds. “Our clients want to know the transition plan is in place as we get more senior. Both Ronak and Toby have more miles in front of them than I do.”
Galloway, who was an enforcement lawyer with the SEC for more than a decade, is based in Fort Worth and will co-chair the securities litigation and enforcement practice with Kincade. He represents private equity funds and individuals in government investigations and white-collar matters.
“I expect Winstead’s bench, platform and client base to be a great fit for me and my practice,” he says. “The firm has a lot of banking clients and insight into the issues faced by financial institutions, which will greatly benefit our financial services clients.”
Galloway pointed specifically to the firm’s “very strong” and “complementary” investment funds practice led by Andrew Rosell.
Patel also emphasized Winstead’s experience and reputation in representing financial institutions, and says it was important for him to be able to offer his clients a deeper bench on securities litigation and enforcement.
“My experience in the trenches, and insight with respect to regulators in Texas and states around the country, will enhance our clients’ efforts to navigate the challenges presented during government investigations,” says Patel, who practices in Austin.
Two hot areas of Patel’s securities practice are enforcement actions alleging breaches of fiduciary duties and the use of sales contests and incentive programs by broker dealers. With regard to sales contests, Patel predicts state regulators will be scrutinizing their use to market internal services or products and related issues around disclosure over the next couple of months.
Regulators are very concerned that the hype surrounding crypto currencies and digital assets has created a market environment that seems prime for fraudsters, Patel also notes.
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